AUBURN — If there’s one thing the politicians of Lewiston-Auburn agree on, it seems to be the notion that the Twin Cities should be the next place in Maine to enjoy passenger rail service.
Bringing that service to downtown Lewiston-Auburn and expanding it west to Oxford County was the focus of a rally hosted by the Androscoggin, Oxford and Coos Counties Rail Coalition at the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn on Thursday.
About 60 people, including conservative and liberal local elected officials, listened intently as speakers explained how passenger rail helped transform other Maine communities and what obstacles are still on the track for the Twin Cities.
Most immediate on the list is an Oct. 5 vote by the Auburn City Council on whether to put up $50,000 to match $50,000 Lewiston’s council already approved. That would trigger another $400,000 in state funds to finalize a development plan for passenger rail to downtown Lewiston-Auburn.
The vote will be instrumental in ultimately securing federal and private funding for a “shovel-ready” project for a station and track upgrades needed to see passenger rail service return to the Lewiston-Auburn. It’s been a goal of local rail advocates for a decade.
That plan, which would be the result of a bill ushered through the Maine Legislature in 2015 by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, would look to assess not only the feasibility of a passenger rail but develop a working plan to make it a reality. That plan would likely include a station location, a breakdown of potential ridership and sample schedule of how many trains would run from the cities each day and to where, Golden said.
Other Maine cities and towns, such as Brunswick and Freeport, were able to capitalize on federal funding when it became available in 2009, in large part because they were prepared to build, Golden said.
“If we are not ready to take that step, to put a shovel in the ground, then we are going to miss that opportunity again,” Golden said.
His talk was preceded by speeches by Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, and Peter Morelli, former town planner and development director for Saco.
Morelli said the Saco-Biddeford community was able to bring a new station to its downtown in 2009 and that development has not only grown the downtown community, but also attracted nearly $200 million in private investments.
He said estimates peg total private investment to the Saco-Biddeford area at $1 billion by 2030. It’s a figure Morelli said he didn’t believe at first but, based on what actually happened to date, it’s a figure he has confidence in.
Morelli said a key to the success for that effort was community investment and a mayor who was a staunch advocate for the project and was simply willing to “ram it through.”
Morelli said there were many opponents to the project, but the public at large was supportive and the resulting station became as much of a community center as it became a center of commerce.
The mayors of Lewiston and Auburn were in attendance Thursday and both are advocates for passenger rail.
“This is one issue where we are all on board together,” Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald said following the presentation.
Following the meeting, Golden said the unity on passenger rail was strong in Lewiston-Auburn because, when all things are considered, local leaders recognize how passenger rail could have a transforming effect on the local economy.
Also backing passenger rail to Lewiston-Auburn are leaders from across Oxford County and those in Coos County, New Hampshire, who ultimately hope passenger rail to the Twin Cities will lead to an expansion of service northwest to Montreal.
Completing a rail connection from Boston to Montreal could have a big financial impact for towns with stations along the way, according to Golden, Morelli and some audience members who have long advocated for bringing passenger rail from the coast to Maine’s inland and mountain communities.
“Train service in Maine has largely benefited southern Maine and the coast, so there’s a lot of people that feel very passionately that it’s time the rest of the state benefits from passenger rail service,” Golden said. “It makes good sense that a good place to start would be connecting Portland with Lewiston-Auburn.”
Golden said that connecting Maine’s two largest urban centers was always the intention of passenger rail advocates and now he and others believe it’s past time when a solid plan should be developed.
Quinn said that detailed plan would be a vital step forward. She has headed NEPRA, the operator of Maine’s only regular passenger rail service, the Amtrak Downeaster, which runs five trips daily from Portland to Boston and two to Brunswick.
She also said that over the years she has met with many advocates for expanding passenger rail to Lewiston-Auburn and described herself as, “the reality check” for those enthusiasts. The huge challenges of bringing an effective service to a city and town include not only funding the development of the project short-term, but also the long-term costs of operations and maintenance.
Quinn suggested a regular passenger rail service to Lewiston-Auburn could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to implement but others said they believe the figure would be less and could be as little as $30 million to $60 million.
A development plan, if it moves forward, would not only answer some of those financial questions, it would give community members a vision and a rallying point to help solidify support politically, Golden and others said.
Golden said he’s been given a lot of credit lately for his work on passenger rail but said many others in Lewiston-Auburn and in western Maine have been working tirelessly for years to expand passenger rail inland.
Among them is Robin Zinchuk, the executive director of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce and a top organizer of the Androscoggin, Oxford and Coos Counties Rail Coalition.
Zinchuk, who introduced speakers Thursday, said the development of a passenger station in Bethel a decade ago and so-called “ski train” that brought skiers from Portland to Sunday River was, “a train before its time.
“But we tasted that sweet success and the feeling of what it’s like to have passengers delivered right to Bethel and to our businesses,” Zinchuk said.
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